Red Ace
by xT-Zealot
Summary: Ruby did her best to disperse the butterflies that gathered in her stomach while she closed her cockpit's canopy. "Red Five, weapons and engines are hot." -StarRWBY AU-


**Author's Note:** _I may've inadvertently done something that I don't know if want!_

 **Star Wars Bug:** *flies into view* Buzz buzz, mother*bleep*!

 _*runs with arms flailing* NOT YOU!_

 **Brain:** Getitawaygetitawaygetitawaygetitaway!

 **SW Bug:** *cackles manically as it flies after him, biting wherever it can*

 **Brain:** *wails despairingly* The nostalgia! The horrible, idea-inducing nostalgia! The _X-Wing_ and _TIE Fighter_ games! _Rogue Squadron_! The _X-Wing_ novel series! They were so awesome! Wouldn't it be awesome if-

 _No! Don't think it! Argh! *falls over*_

 **SW Bug:** Mine now! *bitebitebitebitebite*

 _*struggles and rolls pitifully on the floor* NOOOOOoooooo…. *weakens struggles and eventually goes limp*_

 **SW Bug:** *gnaws on his head*

 **Brain:** The ideeeaaassss! Can't resiiiisssssst!

 **Disclaimer:** Cover image is the property of Dane-of-Celestia over at deviantart. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it -, seeing that image and the other collection of StarRWBY drawings that combine my oldest favoritest franchise and my newest favoritest franchise together so fabulously so soon after my writing of _Forced_ , the Star Wars bug is hitting me hard. Soooooo…I decided to write another oneshot based on them!

After you finish reading this fic, I suggest you head over to deviantart and take a look at this artist's awesome work.

* * *

One could see the shifting balance of power of the galaxy within the _Mon Maritza's_ hangar bay, particularly the stance of the Rebel Alliance - now being referred to as the New Republic. The MC80 Star Cruiser was the latest vessel to be built and sent out from the Mon Calamari Shipyards to join the growing fleet of the Rebels and it showed. Hangar Bay B, despite being the center of activity due to being one of the main starfighter bays, had yet to lose the shine of a newly-minted warship. The metal floors and bulkheads possessed few signs of wear and tear, illustrating how lacking it was when it came to experience.

The same could be said about Flight Officer Ruby Rose. Barging into the cavernous space, Ruby was struggling to properly fit the life support box over her orange flight suit while awkwardly carrying her helmet under one arm. Her teeth were busy biting down on a thin pastry, the last of the few that she snagged from the mess hall when she and the other pilots of her squadron had been called into a briefing, leading them to their starfighters.

Along with a new capital ship, there were new fighter craft to go with it. At least one squadron consisted of the wishbone-shaped Y-wings, the heavy assault bombers being the oldest type of craft that were still in service. They were nearly obsolete but remained in service, mostly due to how their replacements - B-wings - had yet to be fielded in sufficient numbers to replace them. To prove it, the numbers of said replacements on board were half that of the Y-wings, the B-wings lying lengthwise with S-foils locked at their sides until they were actively engaged.

Similar circumstances surrounded the A-wings. They were small, appearing little more than cockpits attached to their J-77 engines, and their wedge-shaped frames were responsible for the nickname 'slims'. However, their role as an interceptor made them the fastest and most agile craft that the New Republic had to offer and any pilot that was able to master that speed became exceptional adversaries.

None of those fighters were Ruby's, nor were they Coco Adel's. Sitting within the cockpit of her fighter, Coco was performing what Ruby assumed to be her preflight check when she caught sight of her. Leaning over the edge of her cockpit and sliding her shades down to the tip of her nose - non-regulation, but one of the perks of being a squadron leader - Coco ordered, "Move it, Rose! By the time you're ready to fly, we'll have already left!"

Mouth still full, Ruby hoped her muffled shout, frantic waving of her helmet, and increasing pace was an acceptable answer for her senior.

Further along the line was not only Ruby's starfighter but what had become an iconic symbol of the Rebellion-turned-New Republic: the Incom T-65B X-wing. Despite in a hurry, the young pilot of nineteen slowed her pace just enough to get a better examination of _her_ X-wing.

Ruby always had a love of anything mechanical in nature and that went double for ships with the X-wing being the one that won her heart. Ducking her head beneath the four 4L4 thrust engines that extended out the back, Ruby's crumb-crusted lips stretched into a smile at seeing the two launch tubes at the underside of the fighter that stored a number of powerful proton torpedoes. Moving to the starboard side, she couldn't help but brush her hand along the red stripe that bisected the fuselage, nearly reaching the cone of the angular nose of the snubfighter.

Twin KX9 laser cannons were mounted at the ends of the stabilizer foils that rounded out the X-wing's armaments. Coupled with that power was the defensive capabilities of the Chempat "Defender" shield generator that gave the fighter a modest protection of deflector shields. X-wings weren't as fast as A-wings, weren't as heavily-armed as B-wings, or as durable as Y-wings, but the ability to serve multiple roles was what made them the primary starfighter of the New Republic and the pride of any pilot who got the chance to sit in a cockpit of one of these with their hands wrapped around the yoke.

Ruby had flown only one combat mission with it so far, and the two marks of Imperial TIE Fighters that were painted on her X-wing spoke of its effectiveness.

Climbing up the access ladder in order to be seated in her own, Ruby saw a mechanic astride the fuselage, right behind the cockpit. He was checking to make sure that the brown and white R2-series astromech droid was safely nestled in the socket located there.

"Ready to go, Zwei?" Ruby asked.

The dome head swiveled around to fix its single optic on her. Instead of answering with a series of beeps and whistles, it barked with a, "Arf, arf!"

The mechanic visibly jerked away from the astromech and looked to Ruby. "There something wrong with its programming? If so, it doesn't sound like anything that a memory wipe can't fix."

"No way!" Ruby replied a tad harshly, sticking him with a glare. "We've been through too much together! He's the best droid there is! Isn't that right, boy?"

Another loud bark accompanied by an energetic spinning of Zwei's head.

"If you say so," the mechanic responded doubtfully.

Ruby levered herself into the pilot's chair, waiting until the mechanic had dropped away before speaking. "Ignore him, Zwei. I wouldn't trade you for anything else in the galaxy. You're perfect the way you are."

If he wasn't connected to the X-wing, Zwei would be bouncing on his legs. As it was, he issued another series of answering barks and Ruby didn't have to see the translated text on one of the screens of her instrument panel to know what he was saying. "Yeah, you're probably the closest thing I have to family right now," she murmured wistfully.

Turning her helmet around in her hands, Ruby stared at the rose emblem that decorated the side of it before slamming it down over her head with enough force to knock her out of the train of thought that she knew she was in danger of falling into. She instead focused on the ritual of going through her system checklist, occupying her mind with the status of the various components of her X-wing.

She hit the ignition and her fighter immediately powered up with sensors and consoles lighting up with the power that now subtly hummed throughout the craft. She glanced towards one and saw that her engines were running at one hundred percent efficiency and she hit two other buttons that fed energy into the shields and laser cannons. All green there as well. Her heads-up display came up on her helmet a moment later.

Shields, engines, weapons, hyperdrive, communications. Ruby went through each one with a mechanical efficiency that had been built up during her sim training. "Zwei, let's try and set the inertial compensator down a bit more. I'm thinking to bring the gravity to .04."

The inertial compensator was the answer to combat the intense g-forces that high-performance vessels and pilots would undergo. It erased the danger of pilots blacking out during intense maneuvers by negating gravity with a neutral pocket that was established around them. One of the tips that Coco had mentioned to her after coming into the trainee squadron was to try fiddling with the settings until she found one that felt right to her. Full compensation could limit the pilot's connection to their machine and reduce their awareness to picking up on anything that might signal as something wrong with it. It was just another of the many things that Ruby's had to learn since joining the Rebellion.

It was after Zwei complied with her request that Coco's voice came over her comms. "Red Leader here. All pilots report in."

Red wasn't their official name but a temporary one as colors were typically used as a callsign whether for new squadrons or when operational use for specific missions warranted it. Thanks to the fame of the Red Squadron that assaulted and destroyed the first Death Star at Yavin, red was all but reserved for X-wing squadrons.

"Red Two, all systems are go," Coco's wingman chimed in.

"Red Three, ready to fly."

"Red Four, no problems here."

Ruby did her best to disperse the butterflies that gathered in her stomach while she closed her cockpit's canopy. "Red Five, weapons and engines are hot."

The fact that this was going to be a real combat mission wasn't doing well with her anxiety. Once a furball was underway with fighters swooping around and trying to vape each other, Ruby was cool and collected to the point that she impressed her fellow pilots with her natural flying talent that made her one of the best pilots of the squadron in the simulators. Without the combat though, she couldn't help but be self-conscious, especially when it came with the others.

Part of it was because of her age. She was the youngest member and her skills along with the attention that it attracted didn't do well with her. That, and she was still trying to get used to her change of situation. Once a girl who spent her days tinkering with machines, she now found herself surrounded by strangers of not only human but alien origins who she was supposed to fly and fight with. It brought up some difficulties when it came to socializing with them.

 _And maybe that's why Captain Adel put me in command of Two Flight,_ Ruby thought a bit sourly. Squadrons of twelve were divided into three groups of four known as flights that were further divided into two wingpairs. It encouraged cooperation and tactics that increased the odds of survival and the squadron leader didn't have to worry about micromanaging the other eleven ships as they could divide their command between flight leaders. As Red Five, Coco had put Ruby in command of Two Flight with the younger girl guessing to get her to involve herself more with the rest of her comrades.

The rest of the squadron reported in without any complications and Coco was speaking over the squadron frequency again. "Red Squadron, launch!"

Ruby activated the repulsorlifts, lifting and bringing her X-wing into a hover with the rest of them. They weren't alone as, at the other side of the hangar, the six B-wings of Green Group mimicked them. Using the rudder pedals, Ruby directed the nose of her X-Wing towards the hangar opening that offered a clear view of the black and starry expanse of space with nothing but the magnetic containment field that was keeping the cold vacuum out and breathable atmosphere in.

Red Squadron flew out one by one and when it was her turn Ruby slowly added some forward thrust to bring her to and then through the magcon field. Once she cleared it, she brought her engines to full and performed a slow loop to fly where the fighters were forming a kilometer from the _Mon Maritza._

It gave her a good view of the cruiser. Unlike the sharper and more menacing appearances of other ships such as the dagger-like Star Destroyers, Mon Calamari Star Cruisers had a distinctive organic look that could be described as artistic with the swells and bumps along the smooth hulls. In the not-so-distant past, they had once been civilian vessels used as luxury liners or deep space exploration vessels. When the Mon Calamari chose to rebel against the Galactic Empire, they converted them into the most powerful warships of the Rebellion that could rival any of the Star Destroyer classes save a Super Star Destroyer.

 _Very pretty,_ Ruby complimented.

As soon as the B-wings joined up with them, Coco led them outbound to the bearing of their hyperspace jump and, with a small jump herself, Ruby remembered that this was where her officer duties came in. Switching to Two Flight's frequency, she tried to suppress her anxiety and produce confidence with her orders. A good leader always talked to her subordinates. "Uh, Two Flight, sending jump coordinates. Make sure to confirm the route with your astromechs and tell me when you're ready."

She decided that it wasn't bad and was relieved when Red Six, Seven, and Eight signaled that they were ready. She switched over to the command frequency. "Red Leader, Two Flight is ready to jump."

"Good work," Coco came back. "All fighters, we jump in five."

A counter appeared at the corner of Ruby's vision and she activated the hyperdrive when it reached zero. The stars all around her stretched into thin white lines and, in a flash, morphed into a spinning tunnel of blue light as her X-wing left realspace and entered hyperspace.

It wasn't meant to be a long journey as the counter reset itself to ten minutes. It was only ten seconds into it that Coco's voice was back over the comms again. "I'm sure we all remember the briefing but there's no harm in going over the mission again while we wait. Our target is an Imperial supply convoy; one of the few that the Empire is still sending out from the Core to supply what little forces they have remaining out here in the Rim. Obviously, the Empire needs a reminder that they're no longer welcome out here."

A corner of Ruby's mouth twitched into a grin. Ever since Endor with the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of Emperor Palpatine, the Empire had practically abandoned the Mid and Outer Rim to the New Republic, the Imperial Navy retreating to the Core Worlds to fortify and prepare for any strike that may come. Rather than pursue, the New Republic found itself busy with not only recovering from the significant losses that they endured at Endor but also strengthening themselves through political means as well as militarily. Countless worlds that had been subjugated by the Empire whether through fear or force were using this opportunity to revolt and openly show their support to the New Republic with delegations being sent out to bring them into the fold.

For now, the New Republic was using this opportunity to build up their strength. Acquire more worlds where they could construct ships and weapons, recruit people to use them, and prepare to become the aggressors in this war and, perhaps, go in to retake the Core Worlds including Coruscant itself. It was to see the evil that the Empire embodied being rid from the galaxy for good after so many years of pain that got Ruby to join. Much like everyone else, she had suffered under the reign of the Imperials.

She dipped a hand beneath her flight suit, following the thin chain around her neck until her fingers folded over the familiar shape of the cross that she always wore.

She was aware that Coco was still talking. "The strategy is this: Green Group will target the convoy while Red Squadron provides cover against any enemy starfighters that may be present."

"Lead, Nine," the leader of Three Flight spoke with a deep, vibrating echo of a Duros. "What of capital ships?"

When there were Imperial fighters involved, ninety-nine percent of the time there were capital ships. Unlike the starfighters of the Republic, the common TIEs didn't come with hyperdrives and needed ships to transport them.

"I doubt it's anything that we'll have to worry about - at least not a frigate," Coco replied. "In any case, the TIEs are our target and will be the real danger. You can use the freighters to put them between you and any capital ships."

Ruby released her grip on her cross, letting it settle back against her chest. "So don't engage at all?"

"Well, depending on the situation, I may feel inclined to give you guys the chance to mark our graduation to active duty with such a kill." Amusement tinged Coco's voiced but her next words were delivered more sternly. "But that isn't our target. The convoy and the fighters are primary, anything else is secondary. Consider this as another surprise exercise. Keep your priorities straight with your lives being the utmost important."

"Understood." Their first 'surprise exercise' had been where Ruby got her two kills. A practice in astronavigation that ended with them stumbling upon what had to be an Imperial recon element. It was small, consisting of a light cruiser and accompanying TIEs, with the cruiser more interested in running than fighting as it retreated right after launching its fighters. Ruby wondered if the captain of the ship really did mean to sacrifice their pilots for time to escape but she wouldn't ever be able to know for sure as Red Squadron annihilated the TIEs before it disappeared into hyperspace.

 _Actually..._ On a hunch, Ruby had Zwei bring up the coordinates of that engagement and compared them to where they were supposed to assault the convoy. The suspiciously close proximity had her keying her comlink. "We seem to be getting quite a bit of Imperial activity around here, aren't we?"

There was a two second delay that played on Ruby's suspicions. "It seems that way, Five, which is why I want scans of what the convoy may be carrying if you find yourself able to do so. If the Empire is trying to establish some kind of outpost or buffer between us and the Core, High Command wants to know."

If Coco really did know more, Ruby wouldn't be surprised. It was rather suspicious, the space where the Republic had thought was secure enough to establish their Signal base suddenly having the Empire sniffing around at the edges. _A recon and now a convoy? Way too weird._

It was probably why their squadrons were selected for this mission: they were the closest elements that the New Republic could call upon to assault and inspect this convoy that's been uncovered. The Republic may be trying to separate itself from the days when new recruits could be training one day and be flung into a base assault or a convoy attack like this the next but it hadn't reached the resources and manpower where such things were completely in the past.

 _Besides, we're not_ entirely _green._

The rest of the countdown passed in silence with Ruby tightening her grip on the flight stick. A reversal occurred once it reached zero, Ruby's reversion to realspace marked with the blue hyperspace tunnel disintegrating back into the long lines of stretched out stars which shortened into pinpricks of white.

But it wasn't just stars that they saw. Ahead of them was the convoy: a group of what looked like medium-class freighters. And they weren't alone.

Red Three broke into the comm channel with a report. "I count a dozen medium-sized freighters, most of them container transports. Flying escort is a _Strike_ -class cruiser designated as _Tumult_."

At the center of the formation of freighters was the Strike Cruiser. Whereas Star Destroyers were like daggers, this one stuck out like a rounded needle. The _Strike_ -class had been constructed by the Empire in a bid to defend their space without having to use one of their larger _Victory_ or _Imperial_ -class Destroyers for something as simple as convoy defense. It was a popular addition to the Imperial Navy, and its design could be modified to act as whatever it needed to be whether a warship or a carrier.

"S-foils into attack position," Coco ordered.

Ruby flicked a switch up above and her stabilizer foils split into the X-pattern that was the X-wing's namesake. Around her, the rest of Red Squadron did the same. The B-wings of Green Group righted themselves from a horizontal to vertical positioning and with their S-foils fully extended they may as well be flying crosses with the cockpits at the very top.

"The cruiser's launching starfighters," Three reported. "Three dozen eyeballs."

"Red Squadron, engage the fighters. Green Group, the freighters are all yours."

The B-wings needed no further urging, the blue contrails of proton torpedoes already flashing past the X-wings to strike at the closest freighters. Ruby and the rest sped on ahead.

'Eyeballs' was pilot slang for the standard TIE fighters with their ball cockpits and hexagonal solar panels while 'dupes' and 'squints' were for the other two common types - bombers and interceptors respectively. As the mainstay of the Empire's Starfighter Corps., they could be fielded en masse with their numbers being their biggest strength, overwhelming any enemy starfighter opposition while the bigger Imperial ships brought the firepower.

As it stood, Red Squadron was outnumbered three to one. However, though TIEs had the numbers and their maneuverability was all around better, X-wings had their own advantages that could put those odds back in their favor, one of which Ruby employed with a flick of her thumb, switching from lasers to her X-wing's payload of six proton torpedoes.

"Give me a target, Zwei," Ruby said and a TIE appeared on her monitor. Carefully sliding the crosshairs over it, they glowed yellow and she heard Zwei's steady beeping as he worked on a target lock. The box flashed red and the droid's tone became constant once the lock was acquired. Ruby pulled the trigger and launched her torpedo.

Meant for taking out capital ships, using torpedoes for fighters could be considered as overkill. For Rebel pilots, it was considered as a legitimate counter to the swarm tactics of the Empire. Her torpedo was joined by eleven others, all of them racing towards the formations of TIEs that were coming for them. Ruby was already picking up another target so she didn't see her torpedo successfully hit, blasting right through the cockpit and out the twin ion engines before detonating, consuming the TIE in a fireball. Other brief illuminations appeared, each one signaling a TIE that they'd no longer have to worry about.

Ruby switched back to her lasers and set them to dual-fire mode, a good median between cycle rate and firepower. With all shield power focused to the front, Ruby continued with her squadron's head-to-head match against the TIEs. The red lasers of the X-wings were answered by the green bolts of the TIE fighters, meeting and then passing each other. Ruby fired a pair of dual-linked shots at her chosen eyeball and then dove away from the green lasers that splashed against her forward shields.

Zwei barked and a message came at the bottom of Ruby's monitor to confirm a second kill.

TIEs had the numbers and maneuverability but that was about it. They didn't have hyperdrives, they didn't have shields, and, unless they were bombers, they didn't have any type of missiles. A quick look at the opposition told Ruby that Red Squadron had managed to play against those weaknesses to the fullest, cutting the number of eyeballs nearly in half while twelve X-wings remained in the fight.

"Break by pairs," Coco said as the furball was soon underway, TIEs and X-wings scattering into loops and turns to get behind each other.

At Ruby's port side was another X-wing that had followed her dive. "I'm at your wing, Five."

"Affirmative, Velvs," Ruby responded to her wingmate while evening out her shields. Other than her and Coco, Velvet Scarlatina was the only other woman of the squadron and had been paired with Ruby during training. She was a Faunus, a race that looked almost human if not for the extra animal-like appendages they grew with Velvet having been born with a pair of long rabbit ears. It was a trait that Ruby found easier to get used to and Velvet having been nearly as shy and awkward as Ruby was upon the formation of their squadron made it easy for the two to become fast friends.

Together they completed the loop that brought them back into the fray, friend and foe alike flying past Ruby at high speeds. Despite the madness she was able to locate a target of opportunity: a pair of eyeballs that was giving chase to one of her squadmates. The X-wing's side-to-side maneuvering was keeping the fire of its pursuit from nailing direct hits but it wasn't enough to shake the fighters off its tail.

Ruby dove after them, her wingmate matching her. "I got the one on the left, Velvet."

"Then right is mine."

Ruby cut back on the throttle and used the right rudder pedal to swing her nose around and settle herself on her TIE while Velvet went behind hers. "Ten, break starboard!"

Ten reacted instantly, rolling to starboard with the eyeballs flying after him. It put Ruby's TIE in the center of her crosshairs and a tightening of the trigger fired off a quad burst, Ruby having linked all four of her cannons to fire together for a sure kill. Two of the lasers hit the left solar panel, warping it, with the other two snapping it off completely when they hit the strut connecting it to the ball cockpit, the force of the TIE's sharp turn doing the rest. The remains of the eyeball spun out of control and exploded a second later.

The loss of its wingman got a reaction from the other eyeball and Velvet's shots skimmed along one its wings, burning charred lines along the surface but not killing it. It broke away with the Faunus going after it.

Ten was in the clear though. "Thanks, guys."

Ruby would respond but was interrupted by Zwei's bark of warning that was followed by impacts against her aft shields. She instinctively rolled to port but the TIE followed her easily, stitching her with laser fire. She pulled hard on the stick, bringing her to a sharp climb and she used the opportunity to shunt power from her lasers to regain the energy she lost to her shields.

Her flight brought her close to one of the freighters of the convoy, giving her an idea. Cruising along the hull with the eyeball remaining on her six, she cut around to the engines and killed her speed.

The plan worked, the enemy fighter flying right past her when it sought to follow her around the freighter. Ruby immediately accelerated, the other pilot realizing the reversal too late as Ruby's quad-burst drilled straight into the engines. A blink of an eye later and the TIE was just another fireball with Ruby flying clear of the debris.

She made a return trip around the freighter and it gave her a good look at the ongoing engagement. She soon had to make a correction as the battle didn't seem to be 'ongoing' for very long as what few TIEs that were left were already being picked off by the rest of her squadron. The Strike Cruiser was the only one really fighting back, turbolasers and ion cannons blasting at the Republic fighters. Those heavier weapons that made it a decent match for any capital ship proved to be ineffective against the X-wings though, the cannons and turbolasers moving and firing too slowly to catch the weaving fighters, even if the gunners had to worry less and less about hitting their own as the last of the TIEs were finished off.

During the dogfighting, the B-wings had torn mercilessly into the freighters. Many flew listlessly, their compartments blown open with cargo and atmosphere venting out, the latter feeding the fires that consumed it. Their torpedoes spent, the heavy fighters were bombarding the survivors with a mix of laser and ion cannon fire, azure lightning playing along the hulls and shorting out systems while ruby-red bolts vaporized armor.

Its fighters gone and the convoy it was meant to protect burning all around it, the commanding officer of the _Tumult_ seemed to know that all was lost, the Strike Cruiser altering its course to break through the growing debris field.

Velvet made note of it. "The cruiser is retreating!"

"Let it go," Coco advised. "We've won and the _Tumult_ knows it; no need to push our luck. Regroup in your flights and report in."

Ruby rejoined with Velvet and met up with the rest of Three Flight, the cruiser having retreated into hyperspace by the time they regrouped. To her relief, all members of her flight were alive and as the rest of Red Squadron listed themselves off, it was to reveal that not one X-wing had been shot down.

"We won and no one died!" Ruby cheered, Zwei adding his own barks of jubilation.

"That we did, Five."

Hearing Coco got Ruby to freeze and she checked her comms. Her message had gone through to the whole squadron! "Oh, uh...sorry, Lead."

"Nothing to be ashamed of." The minor interference that came with comms did little to damper the amusement that Ruby caught in Coco's voice. "We did win and we all get to go home to celebrate it, which goes double for you."

Ruby blinked dubiously. "Me?"

"Your droid just informed me that you got four kills in this engagement. Combine it with your previous ones, and that makes you our first ace. Well, when we're not counting me anyway."

Ruby muted herself and did her best to spin her head around to glare accusingly at the dome head that protruded behind her cockpit. "Zwei!"

The astromech whined imploringly.

"I _am_ happy but that didn't mean you had to tell everyone else! At least wait until we got back to the _Maritza_!"

Now it was Zwei who was barking accusingly.

"Well, no, I wouldn't have told Coco right away and, you know, I would've waited until I caught her alone but I would've told her eventually!"

"Way to go, Ruby!"

Hearing Velvet's shout took Ruby away from her argument.

"The Force is strong with this one," Seven joked.

"Drinks are on you when we get back!"

The rest of the squadron joined in on the congratulations and Ruby sank into the padding of her chair, head bowed and cheeks burning behind the visor of her helmet. But there was a smile on her face. Embarrassing as it was, her heart lifted at the praise and along with it was the clear acceptance that her comrades held for her. She proved her capabilities to them, they found her to be reliable, and it was at this moment that she felt like she was truly part of the squadron. And with that acceptance and their victory today, her path in life felt all the more righteous.

She removed one hand from the yoke and brushed it over the section of her flight suit that pressed the cool metal of the hidden cross against the center of her chest. _If the Force is real, I hope you're here, mom. And I hope I'm making you proud._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Hopefully I did enough of a job to get that old feel of what it was like when I played those X-wing games and read the novels - as well as for anyone else who had done the same._ _So in case anyone's wondering about_ Reflection, _don't worry; I had already started on the next chapter before the Star Wars bug bit me and it'll be getting my full attention now. The next update you see from me will only be for that fic and, fortunately, I think work is beginning to die down for me so I'll hopefully be getting it up soon._

 _Now that I got this out of the way, I should be done with these Star Wars/RWBY oneshots._

 **SW Bug:** *buzzes over to hover in front of his face* Orly?

 _Noooooo-!_

 **SW Bug:** OMNOMNOMNOM!


End file.
